Projectile.



S. SCUBLlONKG.

PROJECTIL'E. APPLICATIQN FILED sem. 7; 1918.

Ptentewan. 14,1919.

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Ar d .4 TTOHNEY i S'. SCOBLIONKO.

PROIECTILE.

APPLlcATmN man SEPT. 1. 191s.

1,291,189. Patented Jan. 14,1919.

A TTUHNE l SAMUAL SCOBLIONKO, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROJ' ECTILE.

Application filed September 7, 1918.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUAL ScoBLIoNKo, a citizen of Russia, who hasdeclared his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Projectile, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The object of this invention is to enable a projectile to be thrown amaximum distance, with less propelling explosive than would otherwise berequired, and without requiring the cannon .to be unduly strengthened.This is accomplished by providing the projectile, which may be ofvarious kinds, high explosive, shrapnel, etc., with a secondarypropelling charge and with means operated by the ordinary rifling of thegun whereby this charge is red at an interval after the primary chargeand before the projectile leaves the barrel, preferably when it is at ornear the outer end thereof. This secondary charge is contained in arearward extension formed on or united to the body of the shell, andhaving a destructible rear end, which separates the two driving chargesand is adapted to sustain the force of the first explosion and to yieldto the second. In order to time the explosion of the secondarypropelling charge so as to occur after an extremely small interval, Ipropose to employ mechanical firing means, of a lostmotion or relaycharacter, whereby a slightly retarded firing of the second charge issecured. The firing means, of whatever kind, is controlled'by a triggerbutton cooperative with the usual rifling. This button is advantageouslylocated in a recess of a fixed driving band.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view showing the shell proper in elevation and with anintermediate portion broken out for economy of space, and the extensionin longitudinal section;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, the section being taken in a plane at rightangles to that of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a partial plan view of the rear portion of Fig. 2, with theshield broken away to show parts beneath;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the line 4-41 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a partial cross-section on the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Speeication of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 14, 1919.

Serial No. 252,996.

Fig. 6 is a similar view on the line 66 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a cross-section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 1.

The body 1 of the projectile or shell may be of any usual or preferredform. It may contain a high explosive or shrapnel charge, and may beprovided with an ordinary time fuse or be designed to explode oncontact, or it might be an armor-piercing projectile. The hollowrearward extension 2 is shown as a separate hollow cylinder screwed ontothe body 1or shell proper.

Into this cylinder there is inserted a frame consisting of a rear ring4, a trough 5, and a front abutment 6, which last is suitably secured tothe rear end of the body.

Behind the rear end of the frame and abutting it if desired, is a ring 7screwed into 1a counter-bored and threaded enlargement of the interiorofthe extension. This ring has spider bars 8, against which adestructible rear plug or wall 9 is supported.

This plug is made of wood or other suitable material, faced with sheetasbestos on one or both sides, as indicated at 10, and is made large fora plain counter-bore 11, into which it is forced in the manufacture ofthe shell. A gasket 12 of rubber or the like at the front of the plugand pressed against a circular ridge 13 on the back of the ring 7, makesa tight joint against entrance of gas or fiame from the explosion of theprimary driving charge to the cavity of the extension 2.

This cavity is filled with a secondary propelling charge 14 of suitablecharacter.

The precise form of firing means will be subject to variation. lForpurpose of illustration I have shown twolongitudinal rods 15, 16 guidedin suitable bearings in the trough 5. Each rod is encircled by anactuating spring 17 or 18. The rod 16 has its front end formed as afiring pin 19, to enter a hole in a case 20 containing a cap 21. A tube22 extending from said case down into the charge 14 is filled withpowder to carry the flame, this powder being retained by'a bit of cotton23. Y

The Iring rod 16 is adapted to be held in its set or cocked position,with its spring under compression, by a pivoted detent 24. The rod 15,which is shown substantially parallel with the rod 16 to be urged by itsspring rearward, whereas the spring 18 drives the rod 16 forward,operates to release or retract the said detent through the` intermediateaction of a pivoted tripping lever 25. The rod 15 is held retracted orcocked by a detent lever 26, which is urged by a spring 27 intocooperative relation to a projection 28 on the rod.

The said'le-ver 26 is shown as provided with a saddle piece 29, to whichla trigger button 30 is secured by means of a screw 31. This triggerstands in an opening 32 in the wall of the extension 2 and in a reardriving band 33, the top of the button being slightly below the surfaceof the band and being forwardly sloped or beveled. In this way, when theprojectile is driven forward by the explosion of the primary propellingcharge in the cannon, the trigger button is engaged and depressed by theusual riiiing of the gun, suiiciently to release the detent lever 26,which frees the rod 15, which strikes the tripper 25v and therebyreleases the detent 24, which frees the firing pi n rod 16. The variouslost-motion distances, such as those between the rod 15 and the tripper25 and between the rod 16 and the cap 21, and the strength of thesprings, are to be calculated so that the explosion of the ksecondarypropelling charge 14 will take place before the projectile leaves thegun. At this time the gases generated by the eX- Elosion will still beconfined within the gun,

ut the rifiing having been partially or mainly traversed by theprojectile, the second eXplosionwill have less of this resistance toovercome.

In order to prevent unintended firing of the charge 14, the firingmechanism is preferably held against operation by ordinary blows orpressure by an obstructing means which will yield in some manner whenthe triggerbutton encounters the rifling. This may be accomplished byproviding the button with a holding shoulder 35 at the forward side torest on a ledge formed `by the outer surface of the wall of theextension 2, and by mounting the button on the saddle piece 29 in suchmanner that it may be. displaced rearward to clear the obstruction.V

For this purpose the hole 36 in the button through which the screw 81passes is shown slightly elongated. When the projectile moves forward inthe gun and the button i'irst engages the rear end of the rifling itwill be forced rearward, relatively speaking7 and thereupon pressedinward. Or the screw may be loosened before the projectile is placed inthe cannon, and the button shifted rearward by hand. Again, the'shoulder or fin 35 may be made slight enough, so that while holdingeffectively enough for safety purposes it will be sheared or forced bythe pressure of the rifling, without requiring the utton to be displacedrearward either automatically or manually.

As a further safety provision, a suitable shield 87 may be clipped overthe shell so as to cover the button.

It will be understood that I do not limit myself to details ofconstruction, which may obviously be varied. v

What is claimed as new is:

1. A projectile containing a secondary propelling charge, a trigger onthe shell co operative with the interior of the cannon, and mechanicalspringoperated firing means of a relay nature in the shell controlled bysaid trigger.

2. A projectile containing a secondary propelling charge, a plurality ofspringurged firing members in the shell, detents therefor, the firstmember being adapted to release the detent of the second, and a triggerfor releasing the iirst detent cooperative with the interior of thecannon.

3. A shell containing a secondary propelling charge and having afiXeddriving band, and a trigger button for controlling the firing ofsaid charge located in the driving band.

4:. A -projectile containing a secondary propelling charge, firing meansincluding a trigger cooperative with the interior of the cannon, andsafety obstructing means adapted to be forced when said triggerencounters the rifling of the cannon.

5. A projectile containing a secondary propelling charge, and firingmeans including a trigger coperative with the interior of the cannon,said trigger having a holding shoulder and being adapted to be shiftedso as to clear said shoulder.

6. A shell containing a secondary propelling charge and having means forfiring the same adapted to be operated by the ordinary rifling of thegun.

7. A shell containing a secondary propelling charge and having firingmechanism terminating in a trigger located in an opening in the side ofthe shell and adapted'to be pressed by the ordinary rifling of the gun.

SAMUAL SCOBLIONKO.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

